Machine for washing laundry



Dec. 29, 1970 w, JACK, JR ETAL 3,550,406

MACHINE FOR WASHING LAUNDRY Filed Aug. 20, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet l H? Maw Dec. 29, 1970 w JACK. JR ET AL 3,550,406

MACHINE FOR WASHING LAUNDRY Filed Aug. 20, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 RE 2O 27 43 2 R FIG. 2

16 an 11 rm DEC. 29, 1970 w JACK JR ET AL 3,550,406

' MACHINE FOR WASHING LAUNDRY Filed Aug. 20, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,550,406 MACHINE FOR WASHING LAUNDRY William Jack, In, and Donald Martin Dalziel, Glasgow, Scotland, assignors to Baker Perkins Jaxons Limited, Glasgow, Scotland, a British company Filed Aug. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 754,008 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 25, 1967, 39,152/ 67 Int. Cl. D061: 21/04 US. CI. 68-58 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A laundry washing machine having a perforated horizontal rotary drum rotatable with its lower portion immersed in a trough, the drum being divided axially into portions of different radius and containing opposed transverse partitions which divide it into a series of compartments and containing lifters which lift the laundry from the liquid in the trough.

This invention relates to a laundry washing machine for the mechanical washing of laundry by means of subjecting the laundry to washing in a rotary machine which subjects the laundry to successive washing cycles involving immersion of the laundry in a washing medium, lifting the wet laundry from the washing medium and then dropping the laundry on to an unimmersed surface with an impact sufficient to force a substantial amount of liquid out of the wet laundry. This dipping and squeezing action provides an improved washing action which successfully dislodges and carries out the dirt particles from the laundry being Washed.

The invention includes a machine comprising a trough to contain washing liquid, a drum having a perforated outer wall and mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis with its lowermost portion immersed in the liquid in the trough, the drum being divided axially into two portions of different radius, the portion of smaller radius having a perforated inner wall spaced from the outer wall by a distance sufiicient to maintain laundry on it out of contact with the liquid in the trough, lifters in each portion of the drum for lifting the laundry from the liquid in the trough and means for rotating the drum.

The washing machine according to the invention may have a single compartment, which is charged at intervals with batches of laundry, the drum being rotated until each batch of laundry is clean and the washing liquid being changed as necessary during the washing operation. Preferably, however, the washing machine is a multicompartment machine through which batches of laundry travel from one end to the other, the drum being divided by internal partitions into compartments through which the batches pass in sequence and in which they are subjected to different washing treatments.

A preferred form of continuous washing machine according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation of the machine,

FIG. 2 is a section on the line IIII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an end view of the exit end of the machine, and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating the principle of operation of the machine.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the machine comprises a trough and a drum 13 having a perforated cylindrical wall which is mounted for rotation above the trough 10 and enclosed by a top cover 14. The drum 13 carries bearing tracks 15 which run on rollers 16 and is rotated by an electric motor contained in a compartment 17 (FIG. 3)

3,550,406 Patented Dec. 29, 1970 through the agency of a chain drive 18. The drum 13 is divided into six compartments I-IV by imperforate division members 19 and plates 20, 21.

The trough 10 is divided into a series of sections 10 -10 which are respectively opposite the compartments I-V of the drum. Water is introduced into the compartment VI from a spray nozzle 33 and flows, as washing liquid 11, from right to left, as seen in FIG. 1, over a weir 50 to section 10 of the trough and thence over weirs 12 through successive sections in counter-current to the laundry to the section 10 from which it flows to a drain 34. Liquid is withdrawn from the section 10 through a line 3-5 by a pump 36 and delivered through a spray nozzle 37 to a feed hopper 26 for the clothing to be washed, whence it flows to the compartment 10 which also communicates with the drain 34. The depth of the water in the several sections may conveniently be:

Sections: Inches 10 7 /2 10 6 10 6 /2 10 7 10 8 Compartment VI 9 'Soap is introduced into the trough through lines 38, soda through lines 39, bleaching agent through a line 41 and steam through lines 42, the supply of these additives being from conventional means, not shown. A line 49 serves for introduction of rinse water.

The plates 20 extend from each annular division member 19 three-quarters of the way to the axis of the drum 13, whilst the other plates 21 extend only a third of that distance. Each compartment has a deep side of radius R and a shallow side of radius R as indicated in FIG. 2, the outer wall of the shallow side being defined by a perforated circumferential wall 22 extending for the full length of the drum 13 and spaced inwardly from the outer wall of the drum to an extent such that the wall 22 is at all times above the level of the washing liquid in the trough 10. Lifter members 23, 24 disposed diametrically opposite to one another extend along the whole length of the drum 13 and are positioned respectively at the bottom of the deep and the shallow side of each compartment thereof.

Clothing to be washed is fed continuously from a conveyor 25 through the hopper 26 to an entry cone 27 on the drum 13 and as the drum rotates, the washing load passes through the compartments in turn until it reaches an exit cone 28 from which it is discharged through an exit annulus 29 to a discharge conveyor 30. A throw out lifter 31 positioned on the deep side of the last compartment VI assists the load to pass into the exit cone, and throw out lifters 32 in the exit c-one ensure steady discharge of the load. Continual displacement of the load already in the machine is caused by the in-feed of new laundry together with the pulling effect of the throw out lifter 31 and the exit cone 28 at the discharge end which assure the progression of the load through the washing machine without the necessity of providing a gravity feed by inclination of the drum 13. A lifter 43 in compartment V assists clothing to pass to compartment VI and gradually accelerates the clothing in its passage towards the exit annulus 29. When the supply of clothing to the machine is stopped at the end of a production run, it is necessary temporarily to incline the drum 13 to an angle of about 5 from the horizontal to ensure emptying. This is achieved by a lifting cylinder 44 disposed beneath a bracket 45 on the frame of the machine and operative to tilt the machine about a pivot 46. Preferably the drum 13 is rotated during the washing cycle alternately in one direction and then the other for short periods. This assists in overcoming any tendency of the load to become tangled.

The compartments IIII of the drum are used for washing the laundry and compartments IVVI for rinsing. The steam supply may be so regulated that the following temperatures prevail in the several compartments of the drum:

Compartment: F. I 100 III 190 As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the clothing 40 is lifted in each of the compartments I-V, at each revolution of the drum 13, from the perforated wall 22 by a lifter 24, dropped into the liquid 11 in the corresponding section of the trough 10, lifted from the liquid by the lifter 23 and then dropped again on the unimmersed wall 22. As noted previously, the impact when the clothing falls onto the wall 22 squeezes liquid out of the saturated clothing and dislodges dirt. In compartment VI the liquid is above the level of the wall 22 due to the height of the weir 50, and the clothing is dropped into the liquid 11 in compartment V after being lifted by the lifters 23 and 24.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A laundry washing machine, comprising a trough to contain washing liquid, a drum having a perforated outer wall and mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis with its lowermost portion immersed in the liquid in the trough, the drum being divided axially into two portions of dififerent radius, the portion of smaller radius having a perforated inner wall spaced-from the outer wall by a distance sufiicient to maintain laundry on it out of contact with the liquid in the trough, lifters in each portion of the drum for lifting the laundry from the liquid in the trough and means for rotating the drum.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the drum is divided by partitions into a series of compartments through which batches of laundry pass in sequence upon rotation of the drum and in which they are subjected to difierent washing treatments, said partitions extending radially inwardly from the wall of the drum.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2, in which the trough is divided by weirs into sections corresponding to the compartments of the drum and through which washing liquid flows in counter-current to the laundry.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 2, which includes a conveyor for feeding batches of laundry into one end of the drum and a conveyor for receiving Washed laundry from the other end of the drum.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 2, which includes throw out lifters near the outlet end of the drum for assisting discharge of washed laundry from the drum.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 2, which includes means for tilting the drum to an inclined position at the end of a production run.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,401,947 6/1946 Locke et al 68-60 WILLIAM 1. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 68139, 210 

